Flower show offers a taste of everything
SOUTHPORT Flower Show will blossom into life tomorrow, attracting about 80,000 visitors and some of the biggest names in horticulture over its four days.
Gardeners are putting the finishing touches to displays and tending the plants and flowers that will be on display in Victoria Park from 10am tomorrow.
This year, the show will have a 2008 Capital of Culture theme and will feature a flower-covered Superlambanana called Dolly.
The show’s chief executive, David Jackson, said: “All our gardens feature Liverpool landmarks and highlights of the city.
“There is also a wealth of entertainment for children, much of which we’re providing free.
“It’s an ideal environment for children to learn about gardening from friendly, down to earth experts, like David Bellamy.”
Bellamy will join a host of green fingered gurus including Diarmuid Gavin and Roddy Llewellyn over the weekend.
Tomorrow morning, singer and ITV Loose Women presenter Coleen Nolan will officially get things under way, along with Gardener’s World expert Stefan Buczacki.
She said: “I’m a keen gardener myself so I’m looking forward to picking up some tips at the show.”
This year, some of the best tips will be for allotment gardeners, as the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (NSALG) will be manning a grow your own display.
The gardeners will be helping visitors wanting to make vegetables and flowers flourish in the smallest places, such as a bucket.
The sheer scale of the show will exceed anything in the North West, and the Southport Flower Show Company has had to plough in more than £150,000 to replace the electrics on the 34 acres of Victoria Park .
The investment will pay dividends for the region as promoters estimate the economic knock-on will be close to £3.5m.
Unusual floral displays will once again be evident, and this year visitors will get an eyeful of a pink flower sculpture created to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Campaign.
The eye-catching tower has been on a mini UK tour which will end in Southport where show organisers will present the charity with a cheque for £22,000.
Children under 16 receive free entry when accompanied by a full paying visitor, and can enjoy the wide-ranging entertainment programme including live music, falconry and acrobatic displays.
